King Tuff is the alias and band of Brattleboro, Vt. native and L.A. resident Kyle Thomas. His music varies from mellow psychedelia to blazing power pop. Imbued with Mr. Tuff’s righteous guitar parts, every bit of it is worthy of earnest Bic salutations or fully engaged fist pumps. You can see King Tuff play live on Monday at the Launchpad with similarly amazing L.A. band Audacity. In the meantime, eavesdrop on the telephone conversation King Tuff and I had about jock jams and the magic of music. And I totally was not the stoned one.

From the Alibi vaults: In 2005 Laura Marrich and Jessica Cassyle Carr rescued a bunch of old local band promo photos from the trash. In the years since, Laura has been their guardian (... or, at least, she kept them in a pile in the back of her filing cabinet). Sure, nostalgia isn’t what it used to be, but here are some of the best shots:

It’s a Circus

Gwyneth's birthday freaktacular features the rock stylings of SuperGiant, Fatso, Icky & The Yuks and Mother Death Queen. Take in the spectacle on Saturday, Aug. 18, beginning at 9:30 p.m. at the Launchpad (618 Central SW). Admission to the 21-and-over event is $5. (JCC)

TOKiMONSTA • electronic, hip-hop

By August March

Electronic experimentalist and heady hip-hop instrumentalist Jennifer Lee, better known as TOKiMONSTA, makes an appearance at the Historic El Rey Theater on Thursday, Sept. 28. An astral entity whose work with Project Blowed and Flying Lotus landed her squarely within the realm of El Lay’s underground hip-hop movement, Lee also happens to be a classically trained pianist. She is well-known for de-constructing the work of luminaries like Justin Timberlake and Yacht through remixes that absolutely come apart in your head as the beat drops—sometimes delicately, sometimes like thunder, but always with a focus that speaks volumes about her musical prowess and wonky tendency to digress upon subtle rhythms and beatific bits of melody. $17 to $22, is all it costs the average 18+ listener to engage in the elusive what-comes-next nature of West-Coast grooviness. The curtain rises on TokiMonsta at 9pm.

Hard rock is a thing that occasionally raises it's grizzled, drug-addled head in this dusty desert. It's a damn good thing the dude can play the guitar like ringing a bell. It also helps that the thing can sing. If not for these two crowd-pleasing aspects, Dirty City denizens would have booted hard rock and his ilk outta this town ages ago. If you still haven't been exposed to this phenomena, may I suggest you haul your hipster ass down to Launchpad on Saturday, Sept. 30, for the album release party hosted by Burque groove-metal stalwarts Sorry Guero! The entirety of the diamond tough, blue-jean-clad, head-banging subculture who worship hard rock will be there, solidly represented by bands like hillbilly-heshers Moonshine Blind and pure punk provocateurs such as the Lords of Wilmoore (eh, I lived on that street too, as an undergrad) and Cobra vs. Mongoose. So be there or be obtuse; it's only ten bones, okay?